Madhya Pradesh: IPS officer stripped of gallantry medal as encounter termed fake

Correspondent

NewsBits.in

BHOPAL: In a rare incident, an Indian Police Service (IPS) officer is being stripped of his medal.

The officer—Dharmendra Choudhary, an MP batch officer, is currently posted as Deputy Inspector General (DIG) in Ratlam.

The Rashtrapati Bhawan has issued the orders to forfeit the President’s police medal for gallantry that was conferred on him for showing ‘extraordinary courage’ in an encounter killing of a dacoit over a decade ago.

The medal was given for his ‘courage’ during an encounter that had taken place in Jhabua in the year 2002. The medal was awarded in 2004.The order to take away his medal was issued by President’s Secretariat on September 21, 2017.

“The Police Medal for Gallantry awarded to Dharmendra Choudhary, Addl SP Madhya Pradesh police vide this secretariat notification in April 2004, is hereby cancelled and the medal forfeited under Rule 8 of the Rules governing the award of Police Medal,” reads this order.

The officials at MP police headquarters said they had send communications to the MHA earlier on the matter and had contended that there was no doubts on ‘genuineness’ of encounter. “We would be sending a fresh letter on the matter,” said an officer.

Sources say the action came following adverse remarks made by National Human Rights Commission (NHRC). The NHRC had found Choudhary's claim to be false and had recommended to the President to withdraw his gallantry award.

It was about an encounter during which Lobhan a dacoit who was active in both Rajasthan and MP, was killed.  The dacoit was killed in Jhabua when Dharmendra Choudhary was posted as additional superintendent of police in the district.

MP government had recommended gallantry award for him claiming but four years after this incident, the charges of encounter being fake, came up.  matter was raised with NHRC disputing the claims. After investigations NHRC concluded that Choudhary had reached the spot only after the dacoit was killed in a cold blood. Commission also observed that shots that killed the dacoit were fired from a very close range.